Migration with the full acoustic wave equation

Abstract

Conventional finite‐difference migration has relied on one‐way wave equations which allow energy to propagate only downward. Although generally reliable, such equations may not give accurate migration when the structures have strong lateral velocity variations or steep dips. The present study examined an alternative approach based on the full acoustic wave equation. The migration algorithm which developed from this equation was tested against synthetic data and against physical model data. The results indicated that such a scheme gives accurate migration for complicated structures.